Trisilylamine derivatives as precursors for high growth rate silicon-containing films

ABSTRACT

Described herein are compositions and methods for forming silicon and oxygen containing films. In one aspect, the film is deposited from at least one precursor, wherein the at least one precursor selected from the group consisting of Formula C: 
                         
as defined herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/134,108, filed on Sep. 18, 2018, which in turn claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/560,547, filed on Sep. 19, 2017, the entirety of which both applications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Described herein is a composition and method for the formation of a silicon and oxygen containing film. More specifically, described herein is a composition and method for formation of a stoichiometric or a non-stoichiometric silicon oxide film or a stoichiometric or a non-stoichiometric silicon nitride film or material at one or more deposition temperatures of about 300° C. or less, or ranging from about 25° C. to about 300° C.

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and Plasma Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition (PEALD) are processes used to deposit silicon oxide conformal film at low temperature (<500° C.). In both ALD and PEALD processes, the precursor and reactive gas (such as oxygen or ozone) are separately pulsed in certain number of cycles to form a monolayer of silicon oxide at each cycle. However, silicon oxide deposited at low temperatures using these processes may contain levels of impurities such as, without limitation, nitrogen (N) which may be detrimental in certain semiconductor applications. To remedy this, one possible solution is to increase the deposition temperature to 500° C. or greater. However, at these higher temperatures, conventional precursors employed by semi-conductor industries tend to self-react, thermally decompose, and deposit in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) mode rather than an ALD mode. The CVD mode deposition has reduced conformality compared to ALD deposition, especially for high aspect ratio structures which are needed in many semiconductor applications. In addition, the CVD mode deposition has less control of film or material thickness than the ALD mode deposition.

The reference article entitled “Some New Alkylaminosilanes,” Abel, E. W. et al., J. Chem. Soc., (1964), Vol. 26, pp. 1528-1530 describes the preparation of various aminosilane compounds such as Me₃SiNHBu-iso, Me₃SiNHBu-sec, Me₃SiN(Pr-iso)₂, and Me₃SiN(Bu-sec)₂ wherein Me=methyl, Bu-sec=sec-butyl, and Pr-iso=isopropyl from the direct interaction of trimethylchlorosilane (Me₃SiCl) and the appropriate amine.

The reference article entitled “SiO₂ Atomic Layer Deposition Using Tris(dimethylamino)silane and Hydrogen Peroxide Studied by in Situ Transmission FTIR Spectroscopy,” Burton, B. B., et al., The Journal of Physical Chemistry (2009), Vol. 113, pp. 8249-57 describes the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) using a variety of silicon precursors with H₂O₂ as the oxidant. The silicon precursors were (N,N-dimethylamino)trimethylsilane) (CH₃)₃SiN(CH₃)₂, vinyltrimethoxysilane CH₂CHSi(OCH₃)₃, trivinylmethoxysilane (CH₂CH)₃SiOCH₃, tetrakis(dimethylamino)silane Si(N(CH₃)₂)₄, and tris(dimethylamino)silane (TDMAS) SiH(N(CH₃)₂)₃. TDMAS was determined to be the most effective of these precursors. However, additional studies determined that SiH* surface species from TDMAS were difficult to remove using only H₂O. Subsequent studies utilized TDMAS and H₂O₂ as the oxidant and explored SiO₂ ALD in the temperature range of 150-550° C. The exposures required for the TDMAS and H₂O₂ surface reactions to reach completion and were monitored using in situ FTIR spectroscopy. The FTIR vibrational spectra following the TDMAS exposures showed a loss of absorbance for O—H stretching vibrations and a gain of absorbance for C—Hx and Si—H stretching vibrations. The FTIR vibrational spectra following the H₂O₂ exposures displayed a loss of absorbance for C—Hx and Si—H stretching vibrations and an increase of absorbance for the O—H stretching vibrations. The SiH* surface species were completely removed only at temperatures >450° C. The bulk vibrational modes of SiO₂ were observed between 1000-1250 cm⁻¹ and grew progressively with number of TDMAS and H₂O₂ reaction cycles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was performed after 50 TDMAS and H₂O₂ reaction cycles on ZrO₂ nanoparticles at temperatures between 150-550° C. The film thickness determined by TEM at each temperature was used to obtain the SiO₂ ALD growth rate. The growth per cycle varied from 0.8 Å/cycle at 150° C. to 1.8 Å/cycle at 550° C. and was correlated with the removal of the SiH* surface species. SiO₂ ALD using TDMAS and H₂O₂ should be valuable for SiO2 ALD at temperatures >450° C.

JP 2010275602 and JP 2010225663 disclose the use of a raw material to form a Si containing thin film such as, silicon oxide, by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process at a temperature range of from 300-500° C. The raw material is an organic silicon compound, represented by formula: (a)HSi(CH₃)(R¹)(NR²R³), wherein, R¹ represents NR⁴R⁵ or a 1C-5C alkyl group; R² and R⁴ each represent a 1C-5C alkyl group or hydrogen atom; and R³ and R⁵ each represent a 1C-5C alkyl group); or (b) HSiCI(NR¹R²)(NR³R⁴), wherein R¹ and R³ independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a hydrogen atom; and R² and R⁴ independently represent an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. The organic silicon compounds contained H—Si bonds.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,095 describes a method to reduce the rate of coke formation during the industrial pyrolysis of hydrocarbons, the interior surface of a reactor is coated with a uniform layer of a ceramic material, the layer being deposited by thermal decomposition of a non-alkoxylated organosilicon precursor in the vapor phase, in a steam containing gas atmosphere in order to form oxide ceramics.

U.S. 2012/0291321 describes a PECVD process for forming a high-quality Si carbonitride barrier dielectric film between a dielectric film and a metal interconnect of an integrated circuit substrate, comprising the steps of: providing an integrated circuit substrate having a dielectric film or a metal interconnect; contacting the substrate with a barrier dielectric film precursor comprising: R_(x)R_(y)(NRR′)_(z)Si wherein R, R′, R and R′ are each individually selected from H, linear or branched saturated or unsaturated alkyl, or aromatic group; wherein x+y+z=4; z=1 to 3; but R, R′ cannot both be H; and where z=1 or 2 then each of x and y are at least 1; forming the Si carbonitride barrier dielectric film with C/Si ratio>0.8 and a N/Si ratio >0.2 on the integrated circuit substrate.

U.S. 2013/0295779 A describes an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process for forming a silicon oxide film at a deposition temperature >500° C. using silicon precursors having the following formula: R¹R² _(m)Si(NR³R⁴)_(n)X_(p)  I. wherein R¹, R², and R³ are each independently selected from hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, and a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group; R⁴ is selected from, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, and a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ alkylsilyl group; wherein R³ and R⁴ are linked to form a cyclic ring structure or R³ and R⁴ are not linked to form a cyclic ring structure; X is a halide selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and I; m is 0 to 3; n is 0 to 2; and p is 0 to 2 and m+n+p=3; and R¹R² _(m)Si(OR³)_(n)(OR⁴)_(q)X_(p)  II. wherein R¹ and R² are each independently selected from hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, and a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group; R³ and R⁴ are each independently selected from a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, and a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group; wherein R³ and R⁴ are linked to form a cyclic ring structure or R³ and R⁴ are not linked to form a cyclic ring structure; X is a halide atom selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and 1; m is 0 to 3; n is 0 to 2; q is 0 to 2 and p is 0 to 2 and m+n+q+p=3

U.S. Pat. No. 7,084,076 discloses a halogenated siloxane such as hexachlorodisiloxane (HCDSO) that is used in conjunction with pyridine as a catalyst for ALD deposition below 500° C. to form silicon dioxide.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,992,019 discloses a method for catalyst-assisted atomic layer deposition (ALD) to form a silicon dioxide layer having superior properties on a semiconductor substrate by using a first reactant component consisting of a silicon compound having at least two silicon atoms, or using a tertiary aliphatic amine as the catalyst component, or both in combination, together with related purging methods and sequencing. The precursor used is hexachlorodisilane. The deposition temperature is between 25-150° C.

WO 2015/0105337 discloses novel trisilyl amine derivatives and a method for formation of silicon-containing thin films, wherein the trisilyl amine derivatives are having thermal stability, high volatility, and high reactivity and being present in a liquid state at room temperature and under pressure where handling is possible, may form a high purity silicon-containing thin film having excellent physical and electric properties by various deposition methods.

WO 2015/0190749 discloses novel amino-silyl amine compounds, (Me₂NSiR³R⁴)N(SiHR¹R²)₂ (R¹-R⁴=R₁₋₃ alkyl, C₂₋₃ alkenyl, C₂₋₃ alkynyl, C₃₋₇ cycloalkyl, C₆₋₁₂ aryl, etc.), and a method of a dielectric film containing Si—N bond. Since the amino-silyl amine compd. according to the present invention, which is a thermally stable and highly volatile compd., may be treated at room temp. and used as a liq. state compd. at room temp. and pressure, the present invention provides a method of a high purity dielectric film containing a Si—N bond even at a low temp. and plasma condition by using at. layer deposition (PEALD).

U.S. Pat. No. 9,245,740 provides novel amino-silyl amine compounds, a method for preparing the same, and a silicon-containing thin-film using the same, wherein the amino-silyl amine compd. has thermal stability and high volatility and is maintained in a liquid state at room temp. and under a pressure where handling is easy to thereby form a silicon-containing thin-film having high purity and excellent physical and electric properties by various deposition methods.

U.S. 2015/0376211A discloses mono-substituted TSA precursor Si-containing film forming compositions are disclosed. The precursors have the formula: (SiH₃)₂N—SiH₂—X, wherein X is selected from a halogen atom; an isocyanato group; an amino group; an N-containing C₄-C₁₀ saturated or unsaturated heterocycle; or an alkoxy group. Methods for forming the Si-containing film using the disclosed mono-substituted TSA precursor are also disclosed.

Despite these developments, there is still a need for a process for forming a silicon oxide film having at least one or more of the following attributes: a density of about 2.1 g/cc or greater, a growth rate of 1.5 Å/cycle or greater, low chemical impurity, and/or high conformality in a thermal atomic layer deposition, a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) process or a plasma enhanced ALD-like process using cheaper, reactive, and more stable silicon precursor compounds. In addition, there is a need to develop precursors that can provide tunable films for example, ranging from silicon oxide to carbon doped silicon oxide.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Described herein is a process for the deposition of a stoichiometric or nonstoichiometric silicon oxide or silicon nitride material or film, such as without limitation, a silicon oxide, a carbon doped silicon oxide, a silicon oxynitride film, a carbon doped silicon oxynitride film, a silicon nitride film, or a carbon doped silicon nitride film at relatively low temperatures, e.g., at one or more temperatures of 600° C. or lower, in a plasma enhanced ALD, plasma enhanced cyclic chemical vapor deposition (PECCVD), a plasma enhanced ALD-like process, or an ALD process with oxygen reactant source.

In one aspect, there is provided method for depositing a film comprising silicon oxide onto a substrate which comprises the steps of:

-   -   a) providing a substrate in a reactor;     -   b) introducing into the reactor at least one silicon precursor         compound comprising a trisilylamine derivative compound, wherein         the trisilylamine derivative compound is selected from the group         consisting of Formulae A and B:

-   -   wherein R¹ is selected from the group consisting of a C₃ to C₁₀         cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a         C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic         alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a branched         C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group; R and R²⁻⁸ are each independently         selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or         branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀         alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a         C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₁ to C₆ alkylamino group, a C₆         to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄         to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a         branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic         alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a         C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group;     -   c) purging the reactor with a purge gas;     -   d) introducing an oxygen-containing source into the reactor; and     -   e) purging the reactor with the purge gas,     -   wherein the steps b through e are repeated until a desired         thickness of film is deposited; and wherein the method is         conducted at one or more temperatures ranging from about 25° C.         to 600° C.

In some embodiments, the oxygen-containing source is a source selected from the group consisting of an oxygen plasma, ozone, a water vapor, water vapor plasma, nitrogen oxide (e.g., N₂O, NO, NO₂) plasma with or without inert gas, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a carbon oxide (e.g., CO₂, CO) plasma and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, the oxygen source further comprises an inert gas. In these embodiments, the inert gas is selected from the group consisting of argon, helium, nitrogen, hydrogen, and combinations thereof. In an alternative embodiment, the oxygen source does not comprise an inert gas. In yet another embodiment, the oxygen-containing source comprises nitrogen which reacts with the reagents under plasma conditions to provide a silicon oxynitride film.

In one or more embodiments described above, the oxygen-containing plasma source is selected from the group consisting of oxygen plasma with or without inert gas, water vapor plasma with or without inert gas, nitrogen oxides (N₂O, NO, NO₂) plasma with or without inert gas, carbon oxides (CO₂, CO) plasma with or without inert gas, and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, the oxygen-containing plasma source further comprises an inert gas. In these embodiments, the inert gas is selected from the group consisting of argon, helium, nitrogen, hydrogen, or combinations thereof. In an alternative embodiment, the oxygen-containing plasma source does not comprise an inert gas.

One embodiment of the invention relates to a composition for depositing a film selected from a silicon oxide or a carbon doped silicon oxide film using a vapor deposition process, the trisilylamine derivative compound is selected from the group consisting of Formulae A and B:

wherein R¹ is selected from a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group; R and R²⁻⁸ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₁ to C₆ alkylamino group, a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group.

Another embodiment of the invention relates to a silicon oxide film comprising at least one of the following characteristics a density of at least about 2.1 g/cc; a wet etch rate that is less than about 2.5 Å/s as measured in a solution of 1:100 of HF to water dilute HF (0.5 wt % dHF) acid; an electrical leakage of less than about 1 e-8 A/cm² up to 6 MV/cm; and a hydrogen impurity of less than about 5 e20 at/cc as measured by SIMS.

The embodiments of the invention can be used alone or in combinations with each other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Described herein are methods related to the formation of a stoichiometric or nonstoichiometric film or material comprising silicon and oxygen such as, without limitation, a silicon oxide, a carbon-doped silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride, a carbon-doped silicon oxynitride films or combinations thereof with one or more temperatures, of about 600° C. or less, or from about 25° C. to about 600° C. The films described herein are deposited in a deposition process such as an atomic layer deposition (ALD) or in an ALD-like process such as, without limitation, a plasma enhanced ALD or a plasma enhanced cyclic chemical vapor deposition process (CCVD). The low temperature deposition (e.g., one or more deposition temperatures ranging from about ambient temperature to 600° C.) methods described herein provide films or materials that exhibit at least one or more of the following advantages: a density of about 2.1 g/cc or greater, low chemical impurity, high conformality in a thermal atomic layer deposition, a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) process or a plasma enhanced ALD-like process, an ability to adjust carbon content in the resulting film; and/or films have an etching rate of 5 Angstroms per second (Å/sec) or less when measured in 0.5 wt % dilute HF. For carbon-doped silicon oxide films, greater than 1% carbon is desired to tune the etch rate to values below 2 Å/sec in 0.5 wt % dilute HF in addition to other characteristics such as, without limitation, a density of about 1.8 g/cc or greater or about 2.0 g/cc or greater.

The present invention can be practiced using equipment known in the art. For example, the inventive method can use a reactor that is conventional in the semiconductor manufacturing art.

In one aspect, the silicon precursor described herein comprises at least one trisilylamine derivative compound having at least one SiH_(x) (x=1 or 2) group connected to an organoamino functionality. Such silicon precursor has a structure that is selected from the group consisting of Formulae A and B below:

wherein R¹ is selected from a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group; R and R²⁻⁸ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₁ to C₆ alkylamino group, a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group.

In another aspect, there is provided a composition comprising: (a) at least one trisilylamine derivative compound having at least one SiH_(x) (x=1 or 2) group connected to an organoamino functionality. Such trisilylamine derivative compound is selected from the group consisting of Formulae A and B:

wherein R¹ is selected from a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group; R and R²⁻⁸ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₁ to C₆ alkylamino group, a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group; and (b) a solvent.

In certain embodiments of the composition described herein, exemplary solvents can include, without limitation, ether, tertiary amine, alkyl hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon, tertiary aminoether, and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, the difference between the boiling point of the at least one trisilylamine deriviative compound and the boiling point of the solvent is 40° C. or less.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method is described herein for depositing a silicon oxide film on at least one surface of a substrate, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

-   -   a. providing a substrate in a reactor;     -   b. introducing into the reactor at least one silicon precursor         selected from the group consisting of Formulae A and B herein;     -   c. purging the reactor with purge gas;     -   d. introducing oxygen-containing source comprising a plasma into         the reactor; and     -   e. purging the reactor with a purge gas.

In this method, steps b through e are repeated until a desired thickness of film is deposited on the substrate.

The method of the present invention is conducted via an ALD process that uses ozone or an oxygen-containing source which comprises a plasma wherein the plasma can further comprise an inert gas such as one or more of the following: an oxygen plasma with or without inert gas, a water vapor plasma with or without inert gas, a nitrogen oxide (e.g., N₂O, NO, NO₂) plasma with or without inert gas, a carbon oxide (e.g., CO₂, CO) plasma with or without inert gas, and combinations thereof.

The oxygen-containing plasma source can be generated in situ or, alternatively, remotely. In one particular embodiment, the oxygen-containing source comprises oxygen and is flowing, or introduced during method steps b through d, along with other reagents such as without limitation, the at least one silicon precursor and optionally an inert gas.

In one or more embodiments, the at least one silicon precursor comprises at least one trisilylamine derivative compound having a structure represented by Formula A as defined above. In one particular embodiment, R and R²⁻⁸ in the Formula A comprise a hydrogen or C₁ alkyl group or methyl. Further exemplary precursors are listed in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Trisilylamine Derivative Compounds of Formula A

In other embodiments, the at least one silicon precursor comprises at least one trisilylamine derivative compound having a structure represented by Formula B as defined above. Further exemplary precursors are listed in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Trisilylamine Derivative Compounds of Formula B

In the formulae above and throughout the description, the term “alkyl” denotes a linear or branched functional group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Exemplary linear alkyl groups include, but are not limited to, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, and hexyl groups. Exemplary branched alkyl groups include, but are not limited to, iso-propyl, iso-butyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, iso-pentyl, tert-pentyl, iso-hexyl, and neo-hexyl. In certain embodiments, the alkyl group may have one or more functional groups attached thereto such as, but not limited to, an alkoxy group, a dialkylamino group or combinations thereof, attached thereto. In other embodiments, the alkyl group does not have one or more functional groups attached thereto. The alkyl group may be saturated or, alternatively, unsaturated.

In the formulae above and throughout the description, the term “cyclic alkyl” denotes a cyclic functional group having from 4 to 10 carbon atoms. Exemplary cyclic alkyl groups include, but are not limited to, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, and cyclooctyl groups.

In the formulae above and throughout the description, the term “alkenyl group” denotes a group which has one or more carbon-carbon double bonds and has from 2 to 10 or from 2 to 10 or from 2 to 6 carbon atoms.

In the formulae above and throughout the description, the term “alkynyl group” denotes a group which has one or more carbon-carbon triple bonds and has from 3 to 10 or from 2 to 10 or from 2 to 6 carbon atoms.

In the formulae described herein and throughout the description, the term “dialkylamino group or alkylamino group” denotes a group which has two alkyl groups bonded to a nitrogen atom or one alkyl bonded to a nitrogen atom and has from 1 to 10 or from 2 to 6 or from 2 to 4 carbon atoms. Example include but not limited to HNMe, HNBu^(t), NMe₂, NMeEt, NEt₂, NPr^(i) ₂.

In the formulae above and throughout the description, the term “aryl” denotes an aromatic cyclic functional group having from 4 to 10 carbon atoms, from 5 to 10 carbon atoms, or from 6 to 10 carbon atoms. Exemplary aryl groups include, but are not limited to, phenyl, benzyl, chlorobenzyl, tolyl, o-xylyl, 1,2,3-triazolyl, pyrrrolyl, and furanyl.

Compounds of Formulas A and B can be produced by following reaction equations (1) to (3):

The reaction in Equations (1) to (3) can be conducted with (e.g., in the presence of) or without (e.g., in the absence of) organic solvents. In embodiments wherein an organic solvent is used, examples of suitable organic solvents include, but are not limited to, hydrocarbon such as hexanes, octane, toluene, and ethers such as diethyl ether and tetrahydrofuran (THF). In these or other embodiments, the reaction temperature is in the range of from about −70° C. to the boiling point of the solvent employed if a solvent is used. The resulting silicon precursor compound can be purified, for example, via vacuum distillation after removing all by-products as well as any solvent(s) if present.

Equations (1) and (3) are exemplary synthetic routes to make the silicon precursor compound having Formulae A or B involving a reaction between halidotrisilylamine or trisilyamine and a primary or secondary amine as described in literatures. Other synthetic routes may be also employed to make these silicon precursor compounds having Formulae A or B as disclosed in the prior art.

The catalyst employed in the method of the present invention is one that promotes the formation of a silicon-nitrogen bond, i.e. dehydro-coupling in equations (2) or (3). Exemplary catalysts that can be used with the method described herein include, but are not limited to the following: alkaline earth metal catalysts; halide-free main group, transition metal, lanthanide, and actinide catalysts; and halide-containing main group, transition metal, lanthanide, and actinide catalysts.

Exemplary alkaline earth metal catalysts include but are not limited to the following: Mg[N(SiMe₃)₂]₂, MgR₂ (R=alkyl such as n-butyl, n-propyl, Et), To^(M)MgMe [To^(M)=tris(4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolinyl)phenylborate], To^(M)Mg—H, To^(M)Mg—NR₂ (R=H, alkyl, aryl) Ca[N(SiMe₃)₂]₂, dibenzylcalcium, di-n-butylmagnesium, [(dipp-nacnac)CaX(THF)]₂ (dipp-nacnac=CH[(CMe)(2,6-^(i)Pr₂-C₆H₃N)]₂; X=H, alkyl, carbosilyl, organoamino), Ca(CH₂Ph)₂, Ca(C₃H₅)₂, Ca(α-Me₃Si-2-(Me₂N)-benzyl)₂(THF)₂, Ca(9-(Me₃Si)-fluorenyl)(α-Me₃Si-2-(Me₂N)-benzyl)(THF), [(Me₃TACD)₃Ca₃(μ³-H)₂]⁺ (Me₃TACD=Me₃[12]aneN₄), Ca(η²-Ph₂CNPh)(hmpa)₃ (hmpa=hexamethylphosphoramide), Sr[N(SiMe₃)₂]₂, and other M²⁺ alkaline earth metal-amide, -imine, -alkyl, -hydride, and -carbosilyl complexes (M=Ca, Mg, Sr, Ba).

Exemplary halide-free, main group, transition metal, lanthanide, and actinide catalysts include but are not limited to the following: 1,3-di-iso-propyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene, 2,2′-bipyridyl, phenanthroline, B(C₆F₅)₃, BR₃ (R=linear, branched, or cyclic C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a C₅ to C₁₀ aryl group, or a C₁ to C₁₀ alkoxy group), AIR₃ (R=linear, branched, or cyclic C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a C₅ to C₁₀ aryl group, or a C₁ to C₁₀ alkoxy group), (C₅H₅)₂TiR₂ (R=alkyl, H, alkoxy, organoamino, carbosilyl), (C₅H₅)₂Ti(OAr)₂ [Ar=(2,6-(^(i)Pr)₂C₆H₃)], (C₅H₅)₂Ti(SiHRR′)PMe₃ (wherein R, R′ are each independently selected from H, Me, Ph), TiMe₂(dmpe)₂ (dmpe=1,2-bis(dimethylphosphino)ethane), bis(benzene)chromium(0), Cr(CO)₆, Mn₂(CO)₁₂, Fe(CO)₅, Fe₃(CO)₁₂, (C₅H₅)Fe(CO)₂Me, CO₂(CO)₈, Ni(II) acetate, Nickel(II) acetylacetonate, Ni(cyclooctadiene)₂, [(dippe)Ni(μ-H)]₂ (dippe=1,2-bis(di-iso-propylphosphino)ethane), (R-indenyl)Ni(PR′₃)Me (R=1-^(i)Pr, 1-SiMe₃, 1,3-(SiMe₃)₂; R′=Me,Ph), [{Ni(η-CH₂:CHSiMe₂)₂O}{μ-(η-CH₂:CHSiMe₂)₂O}], Cu(I) acetate, CuH, [tris(4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolinyl)phenylborate]ZnH, (C₅H₅)₂ZrR₂ (R=alkyl, H, alkoxy, organoamino, carbosilyl), Ru₃(CO)₁₂, [(Et₃P)Ru(2,6-dimesitylthiophenolate)][B[3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃]₄], [(C₅Me₅)Ru(R₃P)_(x)(NCMe)_(3-x)]⁺ (wherein R is selected from a linear, branched, or cyclic C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group and a C₅ to C₁₀ aryl group; x=0, 1, 2, 3), Rh₆(CO)₁₆, tris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I)carbonyl hydride, Rh₂H₂(CO)₂(dppm)₂ (dppm=bis(diphenylphosphino)methane, Rh₂(p-SiRH)₂(CO)₂(dppm)₂ (R=Ph, Et, C₆H₁₃), Pd/C, tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0), tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0), Pd(II) acetate, (C₅H₅)₂SmH, (C₅Me₅)₂SmH, (THF)₂Yb[N(SiMe₃)₂]₂, (NHC)Yb(N(SiMe₃)₂)₂ [NHC=1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl) imidazol-2-ylidene)], Yb(η²-Ph₂CNPh)(hmpa)₃ (hmpa=hexamethylphosphoramide), W(CO)₆, Re₂(CO)₁₀, Os₃(CO)₁₂, Ir₄(CO)₁₂, (acetylacetonato)dicarbonyliridium(I), Ir(Me)₂(C₅Me₅)L (L=PMe₃, PPh₃), [Ir(cyclooctadiene)OMe]₂, PtO₂ (Adams's catalyst), Pt/C, Platinum(0)-1,3-divinyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane (Karstedt's catalyst), bis(tri-tert-butylphosphine)platinum(0), Pt(cyclooctadiene)₂, [(Me₃Si)₂N]₃U][BPh₄], [(Et₂N)₃U][BPh₄], and other halide-free M^(n+) complexes (M=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, U; n=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Exemplary halide-containing, main group, transition metal, lanthanide, and actinide catalysts include but are not limited to the following: BX₃ (X=F, Cl, Br, I), BF₃.OEt₂, AIX₃ (X=F, Cl, Br, I), (C₅H₅)₂TiX₂ (X=F, Cl), [Mn(CO)₄Br]₂, NiCl₂, (C₅H₅)₂ZrX₂ (X=F, Cl), PdCl₂, Pdl₂, CuCl, CuI, CuF₂, CuCl₂, CuBr₂, Cu(PPh₃)₃Cl, ZnCl₂, [(C₆H₆)RuX₂]₂ (X=Cl, Br, I), (Ph₃P)₃RhCl (Wilkinson's catalyst), [RhCl(cyclooctadiene)]₂, di-μ-chloro-tetracarbonyldirhodium(I), bis(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I) carbonyl chloride, Ndl₂, Sml₂, Dyl₂, (POCOP)IrHCl (POCOP=2,6-(R₂PO)₂C₆H₃; R=^(i)Pr, ^(n)Bu, Me), H₂PtCl₆.nH₂O (Speier's catalyst), PtCl₂, Pt(PPh₃)₂Cl₂, and other halide-containing M^(n+) complexes (M=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, U; n=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

In another aspect, the silicon precursor described herein comprises at least one trisilylamine derivative compound having at least one SiH_(x) (x=1 or 2) group connected to a halido functionality. Such silicon precursor has a structure that is selected from the group consisting of Formula C below:

wherein X is a halido group selected from chloride (Cl), bromide (Br), and iodide (I); R and R³⁻⁸ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₁ to C₆ alkylamino group, a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group.

In yet another aspect, there is provided a composition comprising: (a) at least one trisilylamine derivative compound having at least one SiH_(x) (x=1 or 2) group connected to a halido functionality. Such trisilylamine derivative compound is selected from the group consisting of Formula C:

wherein X is a halido group selected from chloride (Cl), bromide (Br), and iodide (I); R and R³⁻⁸ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₁ to C₆ alkylamino group, a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group; and (b) a solvent.

In one particular embodiment, R and R³⁻⁸ in the Formula C comprise a hydrogen or C₁ alkyl group or methyl. Further exemplary precursors are listed in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Trisilylamine Derivative Compounds of Formula C

As shown in equation (1), the at least one trisilylamine derivative compound having Formula C can be used as a reagent or precursor in the synthesis of trisilylamine derivative compounds having Formula A, described herein.

In addition to compounds having Formulae A or B, the at least one trisilylamine derivative compound having Formula C can be used as a precursor for the deposition of silicon-containing films including, but not limited to, a silicon oxide, a carbon doped silicon oxide, a silicon oxynitride film, a carbon doped silicon oxynitride film, a silicon nitride film, or a carbon doped silicon nitride film at relatively low temperatures, e.g., at one or more temperatures of 600° C. or lower, in a plasma enhanced ALD, plasma enhanced cyclic chemical vapor deposition (PECCVD), a plasma enhanced ALD-like process, or an ALD process with oxygen reactant source.

The silicon precursor compounds having Formulae A or B according to the present invention and compositions comprising the silicon precursor compounds having Formulae A or B according to the present invention are preferably substantially free of halide ions. As used herein, the term “substantially free” as it relates to halide ions (or halides) such as, for example, chlorides and fluorides, bromides, and iodides, means less than 5 ppm (by weight), preferably less than 3 ppm, and more preferably less than 1 ppm, and most preferably 0 ppm as measured by ion chromatography (IC). Chlorides are known to act as decomposition catalysts for the silicon precursor compounds having Formula A or B. Significant levels of chloride in the final product can cause the silicon precursor compounds to degrade. The gradual degradation of the silicon precursor compounds may directly impact the film deposition process making it difficult for the semiconductor manufacturer to meet film specifications. In addition, the shelf-life or stability is negatively impacted by the higher degradation rate of the silicon precursor compounds thereby making it difficult to guarantee a 1-2 year shelf-life. Therefore, the accelerated decomposition of the silicon precursor compounds presents safety and performance concerns related to the formation of these flammable and/or pyrophoric gaseous byproducts. The silicon precursor compounds having Formulae A or B are preferably substantially free of metal ions such as, Li⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺, Cr³⁺. As used herein, the term “substantially free” as it relates to Li, Al, Fe, Ni, Cr means less than 5 ppm (by weight), preferably less than 3 ppm, and more preferably less than 1 ppm, and most preferably 0.1 ppm as measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In some embodiments, the silicon precursor compounds having Formulae A or B are free of metal ions such as, Li⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺, Cr³⁺. As used herein, the term “free of” as it relates to Li, Mg, Al, Fe, Ni, Cr means 0 ppm (by weight) as measured by ICP-MS.

For those embodiments wherein the silicon precursor(s) having Formulae A or B is (are) used in a composition comprising a solvent and a silicon precursor compounds having Formulae A or B described herein, the solvent or mixture thereof selected does not react with the silicon precursor. The amount of solvent by weight percentage in the composition ranges from 0.5 wt % by weight to 99.5 wt % or from 10 wt % by weight to 75 wt %. In this or other embodiments, the solvent has a boiling point (b.p.) similar to the b.p. of the silicon precursor of Formula A or B or the difference between the b.p. of the solvent and the b.p. of the silicon precursor of Formula A or B is 40° C. or less, 30° C. or less, or 20° C. or less, or 10° C. Alternatively, the difference between the boiling points ranges from any one or more of the following end-points: 0, 10, 20, 30, or 40° C. Examples of suitable ranges of b.p. difference include without limitation, 0 to 40° C., 20° to 30° C., or 10° to 30° C. Examples of suitable solvents in the compositions include, but are not limited to, an ether (such as 1,4-dioxane, dibutyl ether), a tertiary amine (such as pyridine, 1-methylpiperidine, 1-ethylpiperidine, N,N′-Dimethylpiperazine, N,N,N′,N′-Tetramethylethylenediamine), a nitrile (such as benzonitrile), an alkyl hydrocarbon (such as octane, nonane, dodecane, ethylcyclohexane), an aromatic hydrocarbon (such as toluene, mesitylene), a tertiary aminoether (such as bis(2-dimethylaminoethyl) ether), or mixtures thereof.

Throughout the description, the term “ALD or ALD-like” refers to a process including, but not limited to, the following processes: a) each reactant including a silicon precursor and a reactive gas is introduced sequentially into a reactor such as a single wafer ALD reactor, semi-batch ALD reactor, or batch furnace ALD reactor; b) each reactant including the silicon precursor and the reactive gas is exposed to a substrate by moving or rotating the substrate to different sections of the reactor and each section is separated by inert gas curtain, i.e., spatial ALD reactor or roll to roll ALD reactor.

In certain embodiments, the silicon oxide or carbon doped silicon oxide films deposited using the methods described herein are formed in the presence of oxygen-containing source comprising ozone, water (H₂O (e.g., deionized water, purifier water, and/or distilled water), oxygen (O₂), oxygen plasma, NO, N₂O, NO₂, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and combinations thereof. The oxygen-containing source is passed through, for example, either an in situ or remote plasma generator to provide oxygen-containing plasma source comprising oxygen such as an oxygen plasma, a plasma comprising oxygen and argon, a plasma comprising oxygen and helium, an ozone plasma, a water plasma, a nitrous oxide plasma, or a carbon dioxide plasma. In certain embodiments, the oxygen-containing plasma source comprises an oxygen source gas that is introduced into the reactor at a flow rate ranging from about 1 to about 2000 standard cubic centimeters (sccm) or from about 1 to about 1000 sccm. The oxygen-containing plasma source can be introduced for a time that ranges from about 0.1 to about 100 seconds. In one particular embodiment, the oxygen-containing plasma source comprises water having a temperature of 10° C. or greater. In embodiments wherein the film is deposited by a PEALD or a plasma enhanced cyclic CVD process, the precursor pulse can have a pulse duration that is greater than 0.01 seconds (e.g., about 0.01 to about 0.1 seconds, about 0.1 to about 0.5 seconds, about 0.5 to about 10 seconds, about 0.5 to about 20 seconds, about 1 to about 100 seconds) depending on the ALD reactor's volume, and the oxygen-containing plasma source can have a pulse duration that is less than 0.01 seconds (e.g., about 0.001 to about 0.01 seconds).

The deposition methods disclosed herein may involve one or more purge gases. The purge gas, which is used to purge away unconsumed reactants and/or reaction byproducts, is an inert gas that does not react with the precursors. Exemplary purge gases include, but are not limited to, argon (Ar), nitrogen (N₂), helium (He), neon, hydrogen (H₂), and mixtures thereof. In certain embodiments, a purge gas such as Ar is supplied into the reactor at a flow rate ranging from about 10 to about 2000 sccm for about 0.1 to 1000 seconds, thereby purging the unreacted material and any byproduct that may remain in the reactor.

The respective step of supplying the precursors, oxygen source, and/or other precursors, source gases, and/or reagents may be performed by changing the time for supplying them to change the stoichiometric composition of the resulting dielectric film.

Energy is applied to the at least one of the silicon precursor, oxygen containing source, or combination thereof to induce reaction and to form the dielectric film or coating on the substrate. Such energy can be provided by, but not limited to, thermal, plasma, pulsed plasma, helicon plasma, high density plasma, inductively coupled plasma, X-ray, e-beam, photon, remote plasma methods, and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, a secondary RF frequency source can be used to modify the plasma characteristics at the substrate surface. In embodiments wherein the deposition involves plasma, the plasma-generated process may comprise a direct plasma-generated process in which plasma is directly generated in the reactor, or alternatively, a remote plasma-generated process in which plasma is generated outside of the reactor and supplied into the reactor.

The at least one silicon precursor may be delivered to the reaction chamber such as a plasma enhanced cyclic CVD or PEALD reactor or a batch furnace type reactor in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, a liquid delivery system may be utilized. In an alternative embodiment, a combined liquid delivery and flash vaporization process unit may be employed, such as, for example, the turbo vaporizer manufactured by MSP Corporation of Shoreview, Minn., to enable low volatility materials to be volumetrically delivered, which leads to reproducible transport and deposition without thermal decomposition of the precursor. In liquid delivery formulations, the precursors described herein may be delivered in neat liquid form, or alternatively, may be employed in solvent formulations or compositions comprising same. Thus, in certain embodiments the precursor formulations may include solvent component(s) of suitable character as may be desirable and advantageous in a given end use application to form a film on a substrate.

As previously mentioned, the purity level of the at least one silicon precursor is sufficiently high enough to be acceptable for reliable semiconductor manufacturing. In certain embodiments, the at least one silicon precursor described herein comprise less than 2% by weight, or less than 1% by weight, or less than 0.5% by weight of one or more of the following impurities: free amines, free halides or halogen ions, and higher molecular weight species. Higher purity levels of the silicon precursor described herein can be obtained through one or more of the following processes: purification, adsorption, and/or distillation.

In one embodiment of the method described herein, a plasma enhanced cyclic deposition process such as PEALD-like or PEALD may be used wherein the deposition is conducted using the at least one silicon precursor and an oxygen plasma source. The PEALD-like process is defined as a plasma enhanced cyclic CVD process but still provides high conformal silicon oxide films.

In certain embodiments, the gas lines connecting from the precursor canisters to the reaction chamber are heated to one or more temperatures depending upon the process requirements and the container of the at least one silicon precursor is kept at one or more temperatures for bubbling. In other embodiments, a solution comprising the at least one silicon precursor is injected into a vaporizer kept at one or more temperatures for direct liquid injection.

A flow of argon and/or other gas may be employed as a carrier gas to help deliver the vapor of the at least one silicon precursor to the reaction chamber during the precursor pulsing. In certain embodiments, the reaction chamber process pressure is about 50 mTorr to 10 Torr. In other embodiments, the reaction chamber process pressure can be up to 760 Torr (e.g., about 50 mtorr to about 100 Torr).

In a typical PEALD or a PEALD-like process such as a PECCVD process, the substrate such as a silicon oxide substrate is heated on a heater stage in a reaction chamber that is exposed to the silicon precursor initially to allow the complex to chemically adsorb onto the surface of the substrate.

A purge gas such as argon purges away unabsorbed excess complex from the process chamber. After sufficient purging, an oxygen source may be introduced into reaction chamber to react with the absorbed surface followed by another gas purge to remove reaction by-products from the chamber. The process cycle can be repeated to achieve the desired film thickness. In some cases, pumping can replace a purge with inert gas or both can be employed to remove unreacted silicon precursors.

In this or other embodiments, it is understood that the steps of the methods described herein may be performed in a variety of orders, may be performed sequentially, may be performed concurrently (e.g., during at least a portion of another step), and any combination thereof. The respective step of supplying the precursors and the oxygen source gases may be performed by varying the duration of the time for supplying them to change the stoichiometric composition of the resulting dielectric film. Also, purge times after precursor or oxidant steps can be minimized to <0.1 s so that throughput is improved.

In one particular embodiment, the method described herein deposits a high quality silicon oxide film on a substrate. The method comprises the following steps:

-   -   a. providing a substrate in a reactor;     -   b. introducing into the reactor at least one silicon precursor         selected from the group consisting of Formulae A and B described         herein;     -   c. purging reactor with purge gas to remove at least a portion         of the unabsorbed precursors;     -   d. introducing an oxygen-containing plasma source into the         reactor and     -   e. purging reactor with purge gas to remove at least a portion         of the unreacted oxygen source,         wherein steps b through e are repeated until a desired thickness         of the silicon oxide film is deposited.

Yet another method disclosed herein forms a carbon doped silicon oxide film using a trisilylamine derivative compound having the chemical structure represented by Formula A or B as defined above plus an oxygen source.

A still further exemplary process is described as follows:

-   -   a. providing a substrate in a reactor;     -   b. contacting vapors generated from at least one trisilylamine         derivative compound selected from the group consisting of         Formulae A and B as defined above, with or without co-flowing an         oxygen source to chemically absorb the precursors on the heated         substrate;     -   c. purging away any unabsorbed precursors;     -   d. Introducing an oxygen source on the heated substrate to react         with the sorbed precursors; and,     -   e. purging away any unreacted oxygen source,         wherein steps b through e are repeated until a desired thickness         is achieved.

Various commercial ALD reactors such as single wafer, semi-batch, batch furnace or roll to roll reactor can be employed for depositing the solid silicon oxide or carbon doped silicon oxide.

Process temperature for the method described herein use one or more of the following temperatures as endpoints: 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, 300° C., 325° C., 350° C., 375° C., 400° C., 425° C., 450° C., 500° C., 525° C., 550° C. Exemplary temperature ranges include, but are not limited to the following: from about 0° C. to about 300° C.; or from about 25° C. to about 300° C.; or from about 50° C. to about 290° C.; or from about 25° C. to about 250° C., or from about 25° C. to about 200° C.

In another aspect, there is provided a method for depositing a silicon-containing film via flowable chemical vapor deposition (FCVD), the method comprising:

placing a substrate comprising a surface feature into a reactor wherein the substrate is maintained at one or more temperatures ranging from about −20° C. to about 400° C. and a pressure of the reactor is maintained at 100 torr or less;

introducing at least one compound selected from the group consisting of Formulae A and B:

wherein R¹ is selected from a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group; R and R²⁻⁸ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group;

providing an oxygen source into the reactor to react with the at least one compound to form a film and cover at least a portion of the surface feature;

annealing the film at one or more temperatures of about 100° C. to 1000° C. to coat at least a portion of the surface feature; and

treating the substrate with an oxygen source at one or more temperatures ranging from about 20° C. to about 1000° C. to form a silicon-containing film on at least a portion of the surface feature.

In certain embodiments, the oxygen source is selected from the group consisting of water vapors, water plasma, ozone, oxygen, oxygen plasma, oxygen/helium plasma, oxygen/argon plasma, nitrogen oxides plasma, carbon dioxide plasma, hydrogen peroxide, organic peroxides, and mixtures thereof. In this or other embodiments, the method steps are repeated until the surface features are filled with the silicon-containing film. In embodiments wherein water vapor is employed as an oxygen source, the substrate temperature ranges from about −20° C. to about 40° C. or from about −10° C. to about 25° C.

In another embodiment, there is provided a method for depositing a silicon-containing film onto a substrate which comprises the steps of: providing a substrate in a reactor; introducing into the reactor at least one silicon precursor compound comprising at least one silicon precursor compound selected from the group consisting of Formulae A, B, and C:

wherein X is a halido group selected from chloride (Cl), bromide (Br), and iodide (I); R¹ is selected from a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group; R and R²⁻⁸ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₁ to C₆ alkylamino group, a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group; purging the reactor with a purge gas; introducing an oxygen-containing or nitrogen-containing source (or combination thereof) into the reactor; and purging the reactor with the purge gas, wherein the steps are repeated until a desired thickness of film is deposited; and wherein the method is conducted at one or more temperatures ranging from about 25° C. to 600° C.

In some embodiments, the nitrogen-containing source may be introduced into the reactor. Suitable nitrogen source gases may include, for example, ammonia, hydrazine, monoalkylhydrazine, dialkylhydrazine, nitrogen, nitrogen/hydrogen, nitrogen/argon plasma, nitrogen/helium plasma, ammonia plasma, nitrogen plasma, nitrogen/hydrogen plasma, organic amines such as tert-butylamine, dimethylamine, diethylamine, isopropylamine, diethylamine plasma, dimethylamine plasma, trimethylamine plasma, ethylenediamine plasma, an alkoxyamine such as ethanolamine plasma and mixture thereof. In certain embodiments, the nitrogen-containing source comprises an ammonia plasma, a plasma comprising nitrogen and argon, a plasma comprising nitrogen and helium or a plasma comprising hydrogen and nitrogen source gas.

In another particular embodiment, the method described herein deposits a high quality silicon-containing film such as, for example, a silicon nitride film, on a substrate. The method comprises the following steps:

-   -   a. providing a substrate in a reactor;     -   b. introducing into the reactor at least one silicon precursor         having a structure selected from the group consisting of         Formulae A, B, and C described herein;     -   c. purging reactor with purge gas to remove at least a portion         of the unabsorbed precursors;     -   d. introducing a nitrogen-containing plasma source into the         reactor and     -   e. purging reactor with purge gas to remove at least a portion         of the unreacted nitrogen source,         wherein steps b through e are repeated until a desired thickness         of the silicon-containing film is deposited.

In a still further embodiment of the method described herein, the film or the as-deposited film deposited from ALD, ALD-like, PEALD, PEALD-like or FCVD is subjected to a treatment step (post deposition). The treatment step can be conducted during at least a portion of the deposition step, after the deposition step, and combinations thereof. Exemplary treatment steps include, without limitation, treatment via high temperature thermal annealing; plasma treatment; ultraviolet (UV) light treatment; laser; electron beam treatment and combinations thereof to affect one or more properties of the film.

The films deposited with the silicon precursors having Formulae A, B, or C described herein, when compared to films deposited with previously disclosed silicon precursors under the same conditions, have improved properties such as, without limitation, a wet etch rate that is lower than the wet etch rate of the film before the treatment step or a density that is higher than the density prior to the treatment step. In one particular embodiment, during the deposition process, as-deposited films are intermittently treated. These intermittent or mid-deposition treatments can be performed, for example, after each ALD cycle, after every a certain number of ALD, such as, without limitation, one (1) ALD cycle, two (2) ALD cycles, five (5) ALD cycles, or after every ten (10) or more ALD cycles.

In an embodiment wherein the film is treated with a high temperature annealing step, the annealing temperature is at least 100° C. or greater than the deposition temperature. In this or other embodiments, the annealing temperature ranges from about 400° C. to about 1000° C. In this or other embodiments, the annealing treatment can be conducted in a vacuum (<760 Torr), inert environment or in oxygen containing environment (such as H₂O, N₂O, NO₂ or O₂).

In an embodiment wherein the film is treated to UV treatment, film is exposed to broad band UV or, alternatively, an UV source having a wavelength ranging from about 150 nanometers (nm) to about 400 nm. In one particular embodiment, the as-deposited film is exposed to UV in a different chamber than the deposition chamber after a desired film thickness is reached.

In an embodiment where in the film is treated with a plasma, passivation layer such as SiO₂ or carbon doped SiO₂ is deposited to prevent chlorine and nitrogen contamination to penetrate into film in the subsequent plasma treatment. The passivation layer can be deposited using atomic layer deposition or cyclic chemical vapor deposition.

In an embodiment wherein the film is treated with a plasma, the plasma source is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen plasma, plasma comprising hydrogen and helium, plasma comprising hydrogen and argon. Hydrogen plasma lowers film dielectric constant and boost the damage resistance to following plasma ashing process while still keeping the carbon content in the bulk almost unchanged.

Without intending to be bound by a particular theory, it is believed that the trisilylamine derivative compound having a chemical structure represented by Formulae A, B, and C as defined above can be anchored via reacting the organoamino group or a halido group with hydroxyl (—OH) or nitridized groups (═NH or —NH₂) on substrate surface to provide —SiHR—N(SiH₃)₂ fragments wherein the SiHR fragment is bonded to a nitrogen atom having two or more silicon-containing groups, thus boosting the growth rate of silicon oxide or carbon doped silicon oxide compared to conventional silicon precursors such as bis(tert-butylamino)silane or bis(diethylamino)silane having only one silicon atom. In certain embodiments, it is preferred that R=hydrogen in Formulae A, B, and C such that the growth rate of the deposited silicon-containing film can be maximized.

Without intending to be bound by a particular theory, it is also believed that in certain embodiments employing trisilylamine derivative compounds having Formula C, it is preferred that X=Br, and even more preferred that X=I, since it is expected that the silicon-bromide group will be more reactive towards the substrate surface having NH or NH₂ groups than silicon-chloride, and the silicon-iodide group is expected to be even more reactive towards the substrate surface than either silicon-chloride or silicon-bromide.

Without intending to be bound by a particular theory, it is believed that the trisilylamine derivative compound having a chemical structure represented by Formulae A or B or C as defined above can exhibit a unique and unanticipated balance between (a) reactivity towards the substrate surface during a deposition process and (b) intrinsic thermal stability of the compound itself such that it can be stored for extended periods without significant degradation and such that it does not react with itself at elevated temperatures to promote CVD reaction in a deposition process where self-limiting ALD or PEALD is desired. For example, a trisilylamine derivative of Formula A or B that is functionalized with the cyclopentylamino group (R¹=cyclopentyl) may prove to have higher surface reactivity than an analog with the iso-propylamino group (R¹=iso-propyl). The two carbon atoms directly bound to the ipso carbon in the cyclopentylamino group are fused into a ring and have limited motion (degrees of freedom). In contrast, the two terminal methyl groups in the iso-propylamino group are not restricted and can freely rotate, bend, and stretch such that they provide more steric protection to the neighboring silicon atom, thus lowering reactivity with hydroxyl group at the substrate surface and limiting growth rate. Along these lines, a smaller alkylamino group such as ethylamino or methylamino are likely to provide even higher reactivity with the substrate surface, however, the thermal stability of these derivatives may be too low, allowing intermolecular reaction and degradation of the silicon precursor itself, which would be detrimental to the deposition process. Therefore, in this example, the cyclopentylamino-functionalized trisilylamine shows improved characteristics in the deposition process compared to iso-propylamino- or other branched alkylamino-functionalized trisilylamine analogs without sacrificing intrinsic thermal stability of the trisilylamine derivative.

In certain embodiments, the silicon precursors having Formulae A, B, or C as defined above can also be used as a dopant for metal containing films, such as but not limited to, metal oxide films or metal nitride films. In these embodiments, the metal containing film is deposited using an ALD or CVD process such as those processes described herein using metal alkoxide, metal amide, or volatile organometallic precursors. Examples of suitable metal alkoxide precursors that may be used with the method disclosed herein include, but are not limited to, group 3 to 6 metal alkoxide, group 3 to 6 metal complexes having both alkoxy and alkyl substituted cyclopentadienyl ligands, group 3 to 6 metal complexes having both alkoxy and alkyl substituted pyrrolyl ligands, group 3 to 6 metal complexes having both alkoxy and diketonate ligands; group 3 to 6 metal complexes having both alkoxy and ketoester ligands; Examples of suitable metal amide precursors that may be used with the method disclosed herein include, but are not limited to, tetrakis(dimethylamino)zirconium (TDMAZ), tetrakis(diethylamino)zirconium (TDEAZ), tetrakis(ethylmethylamino)zirconium (TEMAZ), tetrakis(dimethylamino)hafnium (TDMAH), tetrakis(diethylamino)hafnium (TDEAH), and tetrakis(ethylmethylamino)hafnium (TEMAH), tetrakis(dimethylamino)titanium (TDMAT), tetrakis(diethylamino)titanium (TDEAT), tetrakis(ethylmethylamino)titanium (TEMAT), tert-butylimino tri(diethylamino)tantalum (TBTDET), tert-butylimino tri(dimethylamino)tantalum (TBTDMT), tert-butylimino tri(ethylmethylamino)tantalum (TBTEMT), ethylimino tri(diethylamino)tantalum (EITDET), ethylimino tri(dimethylamino)tantalum (EITDMT), ethylimino tri(ethylmethylamino)tantalum (EITEMT), tert-amylimino tri(dimethylamino)tantalum (TAIMAT), tert-amylimino tri(diethylamino)tantalum, pentakis(dimethylamino)tantalum, tert-amylimino tri(ethylmethylamino)tantalum, bis(tert-butylimino)bis(dimethylamino)tungsten (BTBMW), bis(tert-butylimino)bis(diethylamino)tungsten, bis(tert-butylimino)bis(ethylmethylamino)tungsten, and combinations thereof. Examples of suitable organometallic precursors that may be used with the method disclosed herein include, but are not limited to, group 3 metal cyclopentadienyls or alkyl cyclopentadienyls. Exemplary Group 3 to 6 metals herein include, but not limited to, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Er, Yb, Lu, Ti, Hf, Zr, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, and W.

In certain embodiments, the silicon-containing films described herein have a dielectric constant of 6 or less, 5 or less, 4 or less, and 3 or less. In these or other embodiments, the films can a dielectric constant of about 5 or below, or about 4 or below, or about 3.5 or below. However, it is envisioned that films having other dielectric constants (e.g., higher or lower) can be formed depending upon the desired end-use of the film. An example of silicon-containing film that is formed using the silicon precursors having Formula A or B precursors and processes described herein has the formulation Si_(x)O_(y)C_(z)N_(v)H_(w) wherein Si ranges from about 10% to about 40%; 0 ranges from about 0% to about 65%; C ranges from about 0% to about 75% or from about 0% to about 50%; N ranges from about 0% to about 75% or from about 0% to 50%; and H ranges from about 0% to about 50% atomic percent weight % wherein x+y+z+v+w=100 atomic weight percent, as determined for example, by XPS or other means. Another example of the silicon-containing film that is formed using the trisilylamine derivative precursors of Formulae A, B, and C and processes described herein is silicon carbonitride wherein the carbon content is from 1 at % to 80 at % measured by XPS. In yet, another example of the silicon-containing film that is formed using the trisilylamine derivative precursors having Formula A and B and processes described herein is amorphous silicon wherein both sum of nitrogen and carbon contents is <10 at %, preferably <5 at %, most preferably <1 at % measured by XPS.

As mentioned previously, the method described herein may be used to deposit a silicon-containing film on at least a portion of a substrate. Examples of suitable substrates include but are not limited to, silicon, germanium doped silicon, germanium, boron doped silicon, SiO₂, Si₃N₄, OSG, FSG, silicon carbide, hydrogenated silicon carbide, silicon nitride, hydrogenated silicon nitride, silicon carbonitride, hydrogenated silicon carbonitride, boronitride, antireflective coatings, photoresists, germanium, germanium-containing, boron-containing, Ga/As, a flexible substrate, organic polymers, porous organic and inorganic materials, metals such as copper and aluminum, and diffusion barrier layers such as but not limited to TiN, Ti(C)N, TaN, Ta(C)N, Ta, W, or WN. The films are compatible with a variety of subsequent processing steps such as, for example, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) and anisotropic etching processes.

The deposited films have applications, which include, but are not limited to, computer chips, optical devices, magnetic information storages, coatings on a supporting material or substrate, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), nanoelectromechanical systems, thin film transistor (TFT), light emitting diodes (LED), organic light emitting diodes (OLED), IGZO, and liquid crystal displays (LCD). Potential use of resulting solid silicon oxide or carbon doped silicon oxide include, but not limited to, shallow trench insulation, inter layer dielectric, passivation layer, an etch stop layer, part of a dual spacer, and sacrificial layer for patterning.

The methods described herein provide a high quality silicon oxide or carbon-doped silicon oxide film. The term “high quality” means a film that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics: a density of about 2.1 g/cc or greater, 2.2 g/cc or greater, 2.25 g/cc or greater; a wet etch rate that is 2.5 Å/s or less, 2.0 Å/s or less, 1.5 Å/s or less, 1.0 Å/s or less, 0.5 Å/s or less, 0.1 Å/s or less, 0.05 Å/s or less, 0.01 Å/s or less as measured in a solution of 1:100 of HF to water dilute HF (0.5 wt % dHF) acid; an electrical leakage of about 1 or less e-8 A/cm² up to 6 MV/cm); a hydrogen impurity of about 5 e20 at/cc or less as measured by SIMS; and combinations thereof. With regard to the etch rate, a thermally grown silicon oxide film has 0.5 Å/s etch rate in 0.5 wt % Hf.

In certain embodiments, one or more silicon precursors having Formulae A, B, or C described herein can be used to form silicon oxide films that are solid and are non-porous or are substantially free of pores.

The following examples illustrate the method for synthesizing silicon precursors having Formulae A, B, and C, and for depositing silicon-containing films described herein and are not intended to limit it in any way.

EXAMPLES

Thermal Atomic Layer Deposition of silicon oxide films were performed on a laboratory scale ALD processing tool. The silicon precursor was delivered to the chamber by vapor draw. All gases (e.g., purge and reactant gas or precursor and oxygen source) were preheated to 100° C. prior to entering the deposition zone. Gases and precursor flow rates were controlled with ALD diaphragm valves with high speed actuation. The substrates used in the deposition were 12 inch long silicon strips. A thermocouple attached on the sample holder to confirm substrate temperature. Depositions were performed using ozone as oxygen source gas. Normal deposition process and parameters are shown in Table 4. Thickness and refractive indices of the films were measured using a FilmTek 2000SE ellipsometer by fitting the reflection data from the film to a pre-set physical model (e.g., the Lorentz Oscillator model).

TABLE 4 Process for Thermal Atomic Layer Deposition of Silicon Oxide Films with Ozone as Oxygen Source on the Laboratory Scale ALD Processing Tool. Step 1 6 sec Evacuate reactor <100 mT Step 2 variable Dose Silicon precursor Reactor pressure duration typically <2 Torr Step 3 6 sec Purge reactor with nitrogen Flow 1.5 slpm N₂ Step 4 6 sec Evacuate reactor <100 mT Step 5 variable Dose oxygen source ozone duration Step 6 6 sec Purge reactor with nitrogen Flow 1.5 slpm N₂

All plasma enhanced ALD (PEALD) was performed on a commercial style lateral flow reactor (300 mm PEALD tool manufactured by ASM) equipped with 27.1 MHz direct plasma capability with 3.5 mm fixed spacing between electrodes. The laminar flow chamber design utilizes outer and inner chambers which have independent pressure settings. The inner chamber is the deposition reactor in which all reactant gases (e.g. precursor, argon) were mixed in the manifold and delivered to the process reactor. Argon gas was used to maintain reactor pressure in the outer chamber. Precursors were liquids maintained at room temperature in stainless steel bubblers and delivered to the chamber with Ar carrier gas (typically set at 200 sccm flow). All depositions reported in this study were done on native oxide containing Si substrates of 8-12 Ohm-cm. Thickness and refractive indices of the films were measured using a FilmTek 2000SE ellipsometer. The growth rate per cycle is calculated by dividing the measured thickness of resulting silicon oxide film by the number of total ALD/PEALD cycles. Wet etch rate (WER) measurements were performed by using 1:99 diluted hydrofluoric (HF) acid solution. Thermal oxide wafers were used as standard for each set of experiments to confirm the etch solution's activity. The samples were all etched for 15 seconds to remove any surface layer before starting to collect the bulk film's WER. A typical thermal oxide wafer wet etch rate for 1:99 dHF water solution was 0.5 Å/s by this procedure.

Example 1: Synthesis of N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-disilyl-silanediamine; Formula A Wherein R¹=Cyclohexyl, R²=Me, R and R³⁻⁸ are all Hydrogen

Cyclohexylmethylamine was dropwise added to chlorotrisilylamine in hexanes and the resulting mixture is stirred for several hours. Filtration followed by vacuum distillation provided the desired product, N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-disilyl-silanediamine. GC-MS showed the following peaks: 218 (M+), 203 (M-15), 175, 164, 147, 133, 106, 74.

Example 2: Alternative Synthesis of N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-disilyl-silanediamine; Formula A Wherein R¹=Cyclohexyl, R²=Me, R and R³⁻⁸ are all Hydrogen

Triruthenium dodecacarbonyl solids (1 mol %) were added to a mixture of Cyclohexylmethylamine (1 equiv) and trisilylamine (2 equiv) and stirred at room temperature overnight, during which time hydrogen gas was evolved. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC-MS and found to contain the desired product, N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-disilyl-silanediamine.

Example 3: Synthesis of N-cyclohexylmethylaminosilyl-N,N′,N′-trisilyl-silanediarnine; Formula B Wherein R¹=Cyclohexyl, R²=Me

Triruthenium dodecacarbonyl solids (1 mol %) were added to a mixture of Cyclohexylmethylamine (1 equiv) and N,N′-disilyltrisilazane (2 equiv) and stirred at room temperature overnight, during which time hydrogen gas was evolved. The reaction mixture was analyzed by GC-MS and found to contain the desired product, N-cyclohexylmethylaminosilyl-N,N′,N′-trisilyl-silanediarnine. GC-MS showed the following peaks: 293 (M+), 278 (M-15), 250, 222, 208, 190, 178, 163, 149, 135, 115, 100, 83, 74.

Example 4: Synthesis of N-chlorosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane; Formula C wherein R³=R⁴=R⁶=R⁷=Me and R=R⁵=R⁸=Hydrogen

Under the protection of nitrogen atmosphere, a 2.7 M solution of n-butyllithium in hexanes was dropwise added to 1 equivalent of 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane in diethyl ether at −20° C. while stirring. The resulting solution was then added dropwise to a heptanes and diethyl ether solution of dichlorosilane (1.5 equivalents) at −20° C. while stirring. The resulting white slurry was filtered to remove the solids and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude product was purified by vacuum-distillation to yield the desired product, N-chlorosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane, as a colorless liquid. GC-MS showed the following peaks: 196 (M-1), 182 (M-15), 166, 150, 136, 116, 102, 86, 70.

Example 5: Synthesis of N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-bis(dimethylsilyl)-silanediamine; Formula A wherein R¹=Cyclohexyl, R²=Me, and R³=R⁴=R⁶=R⁷=Me and R=R⁵=R⁸=Hydrogen

Cyclohexylmethylamine is dropwise added to N-chlorosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane in hexanes and the resulting mixture is stirred for several hours. Filtration followed by vacuum distillation provides N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-disilyl-silanediamine. GC-MS showed the following peaks: 274 (M+), 259 (M-15), 231, 203, 189, 175, 162, 148, 130, 116, 102, 86.

Examples 6-15: Synthesis of Additional Trisilylamine Derivative Compounds Having Formula A

Additional trisilylamine derivative compounds having Formula A were made via similar fashion as Examples 1, 2 and 4 and were characterized by mass spectroscopy (MS). The molecular weight (MW), the structure, and corresponding major MS fragmentation peaks of each trisilylamine derivative compound are provided in Table 5 to confirm their identification.

TABLE 5 Trisilylamine derivative compounds having Formula A. No. Precursor Name MW Structure MS Peaks 6 N-cyclopentyl- N′,N′-disilyl- silanediamine 190.47

190, 175, 161, 147, 133, 117, 106, 86, 72 7 N-cyclohexyl- N′,N′-disilyl- silanediamine 204.50

204, 189, 175, 161, 147, 133, 119, 106, 88,  72 8 N-cyclohexyl- N-ethyl-N′,N′- disilyl-silane- diamine 232.55

232, 217, 204, 175, 161, 147, 133, 119, 106, 84, 72 9 N-cyclohexyl- N-iso-propyl- N′,N′-disilyl- silanediamine 246.58

246, 231, 216, 204, 175, 161, 147, 133, 119, 106, 84,  72 10 N,N-dicyclo- hexyl-N′,N′- disilyl-silane- diamine 286.64

286, 243, 216, 203, 187, 173, 159, 148, 133, 119, 106, 83, 72 11 N-cyclopentyl- N′,N′-bis (dimethylsilyl)- silanediamine 246.58

246, 231, 217, 203, 189, 175, 161, 147, 131, 117, 103, 87, 74 12 N-cyclohexyl- N′,N′-bis (dimethylsilyl)- silanediamine 260.60

260, 245, 231, 217, 203, 189, 175, 161, 143, 131, 117, 103, 87,  74 13 N-cyclohexyl- N-ethyl-N′,N′- bis(dimethyl- silyl)- silanediamine 288.66

288, 273, 259, 245, 217, 203, 189, 172, 162, 148, 131, 117, 103, 87, 74 14 N-cyclohexyl- N-iso-propyl- N′,N′-bis (dimethylsilyl)- silanediamine 302.68

302, 287, 259, 243, 231, 217, 203, 189, 175, 162, 148, 131, 117, 103, 84,  74 15 N,N-dicyclo- hexyl-N′,N′- bis(dimethyl- silyl)- silanediamine 342.75

342, 328, 299, 287, 272, 259, 244, 229, 215, 201, 189, 175, 162, 148, 131, 117, 103, 84, 73

Comparative Example 16a: PEALD Silicon Oxide Using Bis(diethylamino)silane (BDEAS) in Laminar Flow Reactor with 27.1 MHz Plasma at 50° C.

Depositions were performed with BDEAS as silicon precursor and O₂ plasma under conditions as described above in Table 6. Precursor was delivered to chamber with carrier gas Ar flow of 200 sccm. Steps b to e were repeated many times to get a desired thickness of silicon oxide for metrology. The film deposition parameters and the film properties at different deposition conditions are shown in Table 7. With precursor pulse of 4 seconds, reactor pressure at 3 Torr, plasma power of 200 W and plasma time of 5 seconds, a GPC of 1.19 Å/cycle is obtained at 100° C. and 0.95 Å/cycle is obtained at 300° C.

TABLE 6 Process for PEALD Silicon Oxide Deposition in the Commercial Lateral Flow PEALD Reactor with N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-bis(dimethylsilyl)-silanediamine. Step a Introduce Si wafer Deposition temperature = 100° C. to the reactor or 300° C. b Introduce silicon Precursor delivery = variable seconds precursor to the with 200 sccm Ar; reactor Process gas Argon flow = 300 sccm Reactor pressure = 2 or 3 Torr c Purge silicon Argon flow = 300 sccm precursor with inert Argon flow time = 10 seconds at 300° C. gas (argon) and 20 seconds at 100° C. Reactor pressure = 2 or 3 Torr d Oxidation using Argon flow = 300 sccm plasma Oxygen flow = 100 sccm Plasma power = 200 W Plasma time = variable seconds Reactor pressure = 2 or 3 Torr e Purge O₂ plasma Plasma off Argon flow = 300 sccm Argon flow time = 2 seconds Reactor pressure = 2 or 3 Torr

TABLE 7 PEALD Silicon Oxide Film Deposition Parameters and Deposition GPC by Bis(diethylamino)silane (BDEAS) Dep Reactor Oxygen Oxygen GPC WER T Pressure Precursor Plasma Plasma (Å/ (Å/ (° C.) (Torr) flow (s) time (s) Power (W) cycle) RI second) 100 3 1 5 200 1.16 1.47 1.73 100 3 2 5 200 1.18 1.47 1.75 100 3 4 5 200 1.19 1.47 1.75 100 3 8 5 200 1.21 1.47 1.75 100 2 4 5 400 1.13 1.47 1.22 100 2 4 5 100 1.29 1.47 2.15 300 3 1 2 200 1.02 1.46 2.27 300 3 2 2 200 1.04 1.46 2.23 300 3 4 2 200 1.06 1.45 2.30 300 3 10 2 200 1.07 1.46 2.18 300 3 4 5 200 0.95 1.47 1.24

Example 16: PEALD Silicon Oxide Using N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-bis(dimethylsilyl)-silanediamine in Laminar Flow Reactor with 27.1 MHz Plasma

Depositions were performed with N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-bis(dimethylsilyl)-silanediamine as silicon precursor and 02 plasma under conditions as described in Table 6. Precursor was delivered to chamber with carrier gas Ar flow of 200 sccm. Steps b to e were repeated many times to get a desired thickness of silicon oxide for metrology. The film deposition parameters and the film properties at different deposition conditions are shown in Table 8. A growth rate of 3 Å/cycle is obtained at 100° C. and 2.5 Å/cycle is obtained at 300° C.

TABLE 8 PEALD Silicon Oxide Film Deposition Parameters and Deposition Growth per Cycle (GPC) by N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-bis(dimethylsilyl)-silanediamine Dep Reactor Oxygen Oxygen GPC WER T Pressure Precursor Plasma Plasma (Å/ (Å/ (° C.) (Torr) flow (s) time (s) Power (W) cycle) RI second) 100 3 12 5 200 3.035 1.45 3.64 100 2 12 5 400 2.820 1.46 2.24 100 2 12 5 200 3.010 1.46 3.30 100 2 12 10 200 2.875 1.46 2.40 100 2 12 20 200 2.740 1.45 1.90 300 3 4 2 200 2.160 1.46 NA 300 3 8 2 200 2.390 1.45 NA 300 3 12 2 200 2.480 1.44 3.78 300 2 12 5 400 2.185 1.45 1.42 300 2 12 5 200 2.350 1.44 2.60 300 2 12 5 100 2.48 1.44 3.49 300 2 12 10 200 2.260 1.44 1.97 300 2 12 20 200 2.140 1.45 1.38 300 3 12 5 200 2.465 1.43 3.11

As shown in Table 8, the GPC using from this invention is much higher than that of BDEAS under same deposition conditions, demonstrating that the silicon precursors having Formulae A, B, and C are more suitable for fabrication of silicon oxide films in semi-conductor industry.

Example 17: PEALD Silicon Oxide Using N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-disilyl-silanediamine (Prophetic)

Depositions are performed in similar fashion as Example 16, except that N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-N′,N′-disilyl-silanediamine is used as the silicon precursor, to provide silicon oxide film with a growth rate greater than 2.5 Å/cycle.

Example 18: PEALD Silicon Nitride Using N-chlorosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane and Ar/N₂ Plasma (Prophetic)

A silicon-containing film was deposited using N-chlorosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane as the silicon precursor and Ar/N₂ plasma. The silicon precursor is delivered from a container using 100 sccm Ar carrier gas. The susceptor temperature is set to 300° C., and the reactor is equipped with parallel plate in-situ electrodes. Plasma frequency and power are 13.56 MHz and 200 W, respectively. Deposition process steps are carried out as described in Table 9, wherein steps b through e were repeated many times to get a desired thickness of silicon nitride for metrology.

TABLE 9 Process for PEALD Silicon Nitride Deposition in the Commercial Lateral Flow PEALD Reactor with N-chlorosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane. Step a Introduce Si wafer Deposition temperature = 300° C. to the reactor b Introduce silicon Precursor pulse = 1 second precursor to the Carrier gas = 100 sccm Ar; reactor Process gas argon flow = 500 sccm Reactor pressure = 2 Torr c Purge silicon Argon flow = 500 sccm precursor with inert Argon flow time = 10 seconds gas (argon) Reactor pressure = 2 Torr d Nitridation Argon flow = 125 sccm using Ar/N₂ plasma Nitrogen flow = 375 sccm Plasma power = 200 Watts Plasma time = 5 seconds Reactor pressure = 2 Torr e Purge Ar/N₂ plasma Plasma off Argon flow = 500 sccm Argon flow time = 10 seconds Reactor pressure = 2 Torr 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method to deposit a film comprising silicon and nitrogen onto a substrate comprises steps of: a) providing a substrate in a reactor; b) introducing into the reactor at least one silicon precursor compound, wherein the at least one silicon precursor compound is selected from the group consisting of Formula C:

wherein X is a halido group selected from chloride (Cl), bromide (Br), and iodide (I); R and R³⁻⁸ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C₁ to C₁₀ alkyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkenyl group, a linear or branched C₃ to C₁₀ alkynyl group, a C₁ to C₆ dialkylamino group, a C₁ to C₆ alkylamino group, a C₆ to C₁₀ aryl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkyl group, a C₃ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C₄ to C₁₀ cyclic alkenyl group, a C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C₃ to C₆ cyclic alkynyl group, and a C₄ to C₁₀ aryl group; c) purging the reactor with purge gas; d) introducing a nitrogen-containing source into the reactor; and e) purging the reactor with purge gas, wherein steps b through e are repeated until a desired thickness of film is deposited, and; wherein the method is conducted at one or more temperatures ranging from about 25° C. to 600° C.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the compound is selected from the group consisting of N-bromosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane, N-iodosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane, N-bromo(methyl)silyl-tetramethyldisilazane, N-iodo(methyl)silyl-tetramethyldisilazane, N-chlorosilyl-hexamethyldisilazane, N-bromosilyl-hexamethyldisilazane, N-iodosilyl-hexamethyldisilazane, N-bromo(methyl)silyl-hexamethyldisilazane, N-iodo(methyl)silyl-hexamethyldisilazane.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the nitrogen-containing source is selected from the group consisting of ammonia, hydrazine, monoalkylhydrazine, dialkylhydrazine, nitrogen, nitrogen/hydrogen, nitrogen/argon plasma, nitrogen/helium plasma, ammonia plasma, nitrogen plasma, nitrogen/hydrogen plasma, tert-butylamine, dimethylamine, diethylamine, isopropylamine, diethylamine plasma, dimethylamine plasma, trimethylamine plasma, ethylenediamine plasma, ethanolamine plasma, and mixtures thereof.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein a density of the film is about 2.1 g/cc or greater.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the film further comprises carbon and wherein a carbon content of the film is 0.5 atomic weight percent (at. %) as measured by x-ray photospectroscopy or greater.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein a density of the film is about 1.8 g/cc or greater.
 7. A composition for depositing a film selected from a silicon nitride or a carbon doped silicon nitride film using a vapor deposition process, the composition comprising: at least one silicon precursor compound selected from the group consisting of Formula C as set forth in claim
 1. 8. The composition of claim 7, wherein the silicon precursor compound is selected from the group consisting of N-bromosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane, N-iodosilyl-tetramethyldisilazane, N-bromo(methyl)silyl-tetramethyldisilazane, N-iodo(methyl)silyl-tetramethyldisilazane, N-chlorosilyl-hexamethyldisilazane, N-bromosilyl-hexamethyldisilazane, N-iodosilyl-hexamethyldisilazane, N-bromo(methyl)silyl-hexamethyldisilazane, N-iodo(methyl)silyl-hexamethyldisilazane and combinations thereof. 